A few weeks ago, Uma officially changed her name to Lila. I have no idea how this notion got into her funny little head, but she corrects us dozens of times a day " I'm not Uma, I'm Lila". Its been going on for about two or three weeks now, at first it kinda freaked me out, I wondered if this was a symptom of some multiple personalities or something but now we've all settled into calling her by her chosen name. Hopefully, this will pass. Funny, because they say everything is just a phase but some phases seem to last quite a while. For instance, last Halloween Uma(Lila) had no interest whatsoever in putting on a costume and lo and behold this year, although she talked about costumes for a month, when it came down to it, had no interest in being any sort of furry animal she had chatted about being endlessly. The good news is that she will now put on most other items of clothes and that is significant.
Uma's (Lila's)little Waldorf school has been transformational in her development, she has blossomed so much in the last 3 months. Her teacher is like Glinda the good witch from Oz, pure magic. The environment and activities she does with the children are so homespun, nature-centered, and sweet. Entering the world of Waldorf is like learning a new religion filled with fairies, gnomes, and angels. I love it. I'm never a true "joiner" of any one philosophy or group, but I do love everything we've been learning along the way. My motto, though, for parenting and beyond is "a little bit of country, and a little bit of rock and roll".
Since beginning school, Umalila (as she sometimes refers to herself), imaginative play has grown so much stronger. She will play by herself for huge stretches of time (thank you, goddess), happy with her own company and the worlds she creates within. This is monumental, as she has had me on such a short leash (just like her short umbilical cord!) She is a wonder to watch at parties, talking to strangers (!), playing with other kids, just having a ball without clutching to me for dear life the whole time. I have been in awe of her transformation.
One somewhat funny thing Uma(Lila) has caught from school is a lisp. One day she came home and it was like her tongue had swollen to double its size. It was a bit worrisome at first, I even asked her teacher about it. Upon further investigation, I realized it was her little new best friend who lisps, and this girl is absolutely darling. So, now we have a little girl name Lila who lisps. Isthn't that sthweet?
November 29, 2008
November 2, 2008
November 1, 2008
September 15, 2008
first days of school
Uma has started pre-school! Her little in-home Waldorf is just as sweet as it can be. I have been so excited for her to have this time to herself, and for me to have time to start up my little dream business too. I really didn't think I'd cry dropping her off on the first day of school as I have been so excited for the break but as soon as I said goodbye to her and walked out of the house I felt it bubbling up and as soon as i got to my car I was a blubbering mess. My little girl is so big! She wore the cutest outfit ever too. She was just so damn cute.
Later in the day, we went to a friends birthday party and they had rented a karaoke machine. We were watching everyone make fools of themselves and then Uma started to run around a bit so I went to the kitchen to talk to some friends. Next thing I know, someone said,"Who's up?" and everyone started shouting my name. i went in to find Um in the front of the crowd, a huge mic in her hand and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star cued up for her. She sang the song in front of everyone all by herself! No prodding!
Later in the day, we went to a friends birthday party and they had rented a karaoke machine. We were watching everyone make fools of themselves and then Uma started to run around a bit so I went to the kitchen to talk to some friends. Next thing I know, someone said,"Who's up?" and everyone started shouting my name. i went in to find Um in the front of the crowd, a huge mic in her hand and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star cued up for her. She sang the song in front of everyone all by herself! No prodding!
September 4, 2008
Farewell to summer
Uma had a rocking summer.
We milked August for everything it was worth. It was one adventure after another. In the beginning of the month, we decided to go camping with another mama and daughter- one that I taught for over three years at Trillium. We headed out to central Oregon to a destination called the Painted Hills. it was gorgeous- red striped hills and sunflowers under a periwinkle sky. We camped out for two nights, hiked around a bunch, and even had a very close encounter with a rattle snake! I nearly stepped on it with Uma on my back. we escaped unharmed but with adrenaline pumping for some time afterwards.
When we got back into town, I was felling to escape into nature again so decided to take uma to a 3 day sacred music festival called Beloved. It was incredible. Gorgeous music throughout the day and night with performer from around the world singing their hearts out. It was located in the coastal range on a beautiful property and there we found many friends, both old and new. We both danced and frolicked so hard that each night we both nearly fell over with exhaustion. I teamed up with another family we know and love, and we set up a tent for our kids to sleep right near the stage. It was phenomenal to se the kids sleeping peacefully as African drummers or Pakistani ecstatic singers belting out their music.
The last few weeks we've been berry picking, hiking to waterfalls, going to Sauvie's Island, riding bikes, and just trying to soak in summer's last rays. The next chapter awaits....
We milked August for everything it was worth. It was one adventure after another. In the beginning of the month, we decided to go camping with another mama and daughter- one that I taught for over three years at Trillium. We headed out to central Oregon to a destination called the Painted Hills. it was gorgeous- red striped hills and sunflowers under a periwinkle sky. We camped out for two nights, hiked around a bunch, and even had a very close encounter with a rattle snake! I nearly stepped on it with Uma on my back. we escaped unharmed but with adrenaline pumping for some time afterwards.
When we got back into town, I was felling to escape into nature again so decided to take uma to a 3 day sacred music festival called Beloved. It was incredible. Gorgeous music throughout the day and night with performer from around the world singing their hearts out. It was located in the coastal range on a beautiful property and there we found many friends, both old and new. We both danced and frolicked so hard that each night we both nearly fell over with exhaustion. I teamed up with another family we know and love, and we set up a tent for our kids to sleep right near the stage. It was phenomenal to se the kids sleeping peacefully as African drummers or Pakistani ecstatic singers belting out their music.
The last few weeks we've been berry picking, hiking to waterfalls, going to Sauvie's Island, riding bikes, and just trying to soak in summer's last rays. The next chapter awaits....
July 23, 2008
almost two and a half!
It's been a good couple of months since I've written anything about lil Umie's development into humanhood. It's all J.K. Rowlings fault, as I devoured her entire series in this span of time. Now that I've finished, I can finally be a productive human being.
Uma will be two and a half in a few days. She looks four and acts like she's going on 13. Our neighbor called Uma "large and in charge" when she was only a few weeks old, and she was spot on. I've had to hold back from starting to say the mantra my Mom said to me my entire childhood, "Because I'm the Mom!". She is already bossing me around and telling me what to do. Sometimes this is funny and cute, sometimes not. Half of the time she acts like a darling toddler, the other half she is a bossy African- American grandmother.
She has so many little sayings these days. Six weeks ago she started trying to make her sentence structure a bit more complex by putting the word "because" in the middle and then basically repeating herself. days were filled with phrases such as "I really need that lemonade because I need that lemonade" or "I need to go to the park because I need to go the park". Then she looks at you with her eyebrows fixed and lips all a pucker. As the weeks have passed, she is now becoming a bit more logical with her use of 'because" but the take home message is usually consistent with "I want that because I want it". Who can blame her?
Other charming phrases she uses constantly:
1. "I was just doing something" (useful in many situations)
2. "Alright, now" (employed both sweetly and demandingly)
3. "Be calm." (whenever she wants someone to be quiet, used with large sweeping gestures)
4. "Do you hear me??" (used menacingly)
5. "Mama, you are not going to noga(yoga)!" (going to yoga means that I'm going to go someplace w/o her. Used anytime she sees me put more than two minutes into my appearance, wear earrings, etc.)
There's more, but those are the ones that are in the most vogue at the time of writing. She is fully conversational now. She always asks "Remember..." and pulls something funny out of her memory. She still sings all day long, the whole day like a campy musical aria.
Uma delights now in wearing her "party dress" which is any dress that is lacy or flowing. She now has a vague concept of princess, but truth is she is much more of a diva. The good news is that we just passed out of the incredibly irritating phase where she refused to wear almost any of her clothes. She insisted on wearing one of two outfits for over a month(including sleeping), but now she's open to wearing new things again-thank goddess.
We've had an awesome summer so far. We've had a tons of visitors-my dad and then friends from exotic locations such as Maui, Philadelphia, Amsterdam, and Brooklyn. We've been on countless picnics, gone to the beach three times, went to the Oregon Country Faire, and we just returned from 3 days at delightful Breitenbush- a hot springs retreat center nestled n the forest. It was at Breitenbush that I was finally able to DROP HER OFF with some fantastic mamas and call it 'kid camp". This may not sound like a big deal, but Uma has not historically been a "drop-off" kind of child. It was so amazing and adorable how she took to it. She loved it and felt really good about herself for going as well.
Another first this month was her first haircut- at a salon! No pics to prove it but she was lovely.
Last but not least, Uma is pretty much potty-trained! It's been a very interesting month of huge successes and plenty of smelly laundry, but she's doing a great job. She looks so damn cute in her underwear.
Uma will be two and a half in a few days. She looks four and acts like she's going on 13. Our neighbor called Uma "large and in charge" when she was only a few weeks old, and she was spot on. I've had to hold back from starting to say the mantra my Mom said to me my entire childhood, "Because I'm the Mom!". She is already bossing me around and telling me what to do. Sometimes this is funny and cute, sometimes not. Half of the time she acts like a darling toddler, the other half she is a bossy African- American grandmother.
She has so many little sayings these days. Six weeks ago she started trying to make her sentence structure a bit more complex by putting the word "because" in the middle and then basically repeating herself. days were filled with phrases such as "I really need that lemonade because I need that lemonade" or "I need to go to the park because I need to go the park". Then she looks at you with her eyebrows fixed and lips all a pucker. As the weeks have passed, she is now becoming a bit more logical with her use of 'because" but the take home message is usually consistent with "I want that because I want it". Who can blame her?
Other charming phrases she uses constantly:
1. "I was just doing something" (useful in many situations)
2. "Alright, now" (employed both sweetly and demandingly)
3. "Be calm." (whenever she wants someone to be quiet, used with large sweeping gestures)
4. "Do you hear me??" (used menacingly)
5. "Mama, you are not going to noga(yoga)!" (going to yoga means that I'm going to go someplace w/o her. Used anytime she sees me put more than two minutes into my appearance, wear earrings, etc.)
There's more, but those are the ones that are in the most vogue at the time of writing. She is fully conversational now. She always asks "Remember..." and pulls something funny out of her memory. She still sings all day long, the whole day like a campy musical aria.
Uma delights now in wearing her "party dress" which is any dress that is lacy or flowing. She now has a vague concept of princess, but truth is she is much more of a diva. The good news is that we just passed out of the incredibly irritating phase where she refused to wear almost any of her clothes. She insisted on wearing one of two outfits for over a month(including sleeping), but now she's open to wearing new things again-thank goddess.
We've had an awesome summer so far. We've had a tons of visitors-my dad and then friends from exotic locations such as Maui, Philadelphia, Amsterdam, and Brooklyn. We've been on countless picnics, gone to the beach three times, went to the Oregon Country Faire, and we just returned from 3 days at delightful Breitenbush- a hot springs retreat center nestled n the forest. It was at Breitenbush that I was finally able to DROP HER OFF with some fantastic mamas and call it 'kid camp". This may not sound like a big deal, but Uma has not historically been a "drop-off" kind of child. It was so amazing and adorable how she took to it. She loved it and felt really good about herself for going as well.
Another first this month was her first haircut- at a salon! No pics to prove it but she was lovely.
Last but not least, Uma is pretty much potty-trained! It's been a very interesting month of huge successes and plenty of smelly laundry, but she's doing a great job. She looks so damn cute in her underwear.
June 24, 2008
June 3, 2008
Obama Mama!
Woo hooo!!! I may be premature, but I think tonight Obama will get all those little points he needs to win the nomination!
It truly is the first time in my life that I feel hopeful about the state of the world. I friggin love that man. Uma does too. She talks about him all the time. We have now seen him twice, and Uma loves the energy of the crowd . She knows his campaign's little logo and will spot it all over town.
We had a fabulous month. Uma had lots of firsts. She saw a broadway show(Sesame Street Live), rallied with Obama in a crowd of 75,000 people, got a mani-pedi at a salon, learned how to pedal her trike, and rode her first fair ride all by herself!
And....drumroll........she's signed up for a pre-school in September! I found the most wonderful in-home Waldorf school that has been facilitated by an angel of a woman for the last 18 years. I nearly cried three times during our tour, it was so magical and lovely. Turns out, she had room for one girl! Yippee!!
It truly is the first time in my life that I feel hopeful about the state of the world. I friggin love that man. Uma does too. She talks about him all the time. We have now seen him twice, and Uma loves the energy of the crowd . She knows his campaign's little logo and will spot it all over town.
We had a fabulous month. Uma had lots of firsts. She saw a broadway show(Sesame Street Live), rallied with Obama in a crowd of 75,000 people, got a mani-pedi at a salon, learned how to pedal her trike, and rode her first fair ride all by herself!
And....drumroll........she's signed up for a pre-school in September! I found the most wonderful in-home Waldorf school that has been facilitated by an angel of a woman for the last 18 years. I nearly cried three times during our tour, it was so magical and lovely. Turns out, she had room for one girl! Yippee!!
May 3, 2008
The tyranny of toddlerhood
It's been a good six weeks since I've posted anything. My good friend in Amsterdam filed a complaint and so I figured it was time for an update. Uma is doing great. She's such a trip. She sings all day long, yodels off tune, states her needs emphatically, and delights in dancing.
She has so many little sayings now- if she does want something, she'll say "I'm good", she knows how to bargain for just "one more time", and she will have an entire conversation with you about her day. One sweet thing she started doing recently is telling other kids or animals that's "it's okay, you're mommy will be back soon". When she talks to her friends, she tilts her head and crouches down, talking to them like grown-ups talk to her. She uses the same intonation as adults do when they talks to kids. It's pretty damn cute. She always refers to herself as Uma Kucera. In her pretend phone conversations with her friends she'll say "Hi! How are you? It's Uma Kucera. you good?"
She has started clutching onto books like they're stuffed animals, going to sleep holding one tight. Her facial expressions are hilarious. She has so many funny little faces.
She is incredibly athletic, at the park she's climbing ladders, rock climbing walls, etc. The girl isn't afraid of anything. She loves her scooter, yesterday she went around the whole block, scooting away.
Uma continues to be incredibly intense as well. From infancy, the girl has had the ability to throw a massive fit. When she was tiny, she would go nutters in the car, worse than any other kid I've met. I know that other kids can throw fits, but dear Uma takes the cake. These days it's usually around getting dressed. She would live in her purple skirt or rainbow dress if she could. Getting her to change clothing has become incredibly challenging. She insists on wearing sandals with socks. She refuses to do anything with her hair. If you even sneak in a ponytail, as soon as she sees it in the mirror she'll freak. Hopefully this will pass, but once she sets her mind on something, you better watch out. It's hard to know when to engage in battle and when to let it go. To engage means setting yourself up for 45 minutes of torture. To let her have her way is dangerous too. Ahhh- the tyranny of toddlerhood. The good news is that for such a pretty girl, she is certain to be strong as hell.
Having taught school for many years, I've seen what happens when kids see how well their tantrums work and I know I've gotta hold the line- but it's never easy. We do time-outs which I really wish I believed in more. It's usually (almost always) around the issue of calming down. She just builds and builds, and although the time-outs get her into even more of a state, when she comes out she is ready to be human. It breaks my heart, but I honestly often don't know what else to do.
Some confessions....Although I'm shamed to say it- she loves chewing gum. Yep- I give the girl gum. It was a weak moment that now has turned into a habit. Also, much to my chagrin, she would happily watch movies all day long if given a choice. I think it's because her molars are coming in that she just wants to be entertained sometimes, but the girl begs for Mary Poppins. She adores it. I battle with this as it is certainly easier to have her quiet in front of the screen, I can actually do things that need to be done, but it racks me with mommyguilt.
As for me, I've decided to start taking small steps to get my little dream progressive kids bookstore/ radical mamas cafe/ community resource center going. I was pretty depressed about it after going to the workshop, realizing that the start up costs were huge and the profits could be tiny, but I still love the idea and want to move forward with it. I'm about to embark on the task of writing a business plan, hoping that I can find some angel investors to back me up. That's the only way it's going to happen, but I feel pretty optimistic.
Either way, come this fall, Uma will be ready for pre-school and I will be totally ready to pour my energy into something creative. Wish us luck!
She has so many little sayings now- if she does want something, she'll say "I'm good", she knows how to bargain for just "one more time", and she will have an entire conversation with you about her day. One sweet thing she started doing recently is telling other kids or animals that's "it's okay, you're mommy will be back soon". When she talks to her friends, she tilts her head and crouches down, talking to them like grown-ups talk to her. She uses the same intonation as adults do when they talks to kids. It's pretty damn cute. She always refers to herself as Uma Kucera. In her pretend phone conversations with her friends she'll say "Hi! How are you? It's Uma Kucera. you good?"
She has started clutching onto books like they're stuffed animals, going to sleep holding one tight. Her facial expressions are hilarious. She has so many funny little faces.
She is incredibly athletic, at the park she's climbing ladders, rock climbing walls, etc. The girl isn't afraid of anything. She loves her scooter, yesterday she went around the whole block, scooting away.
Uma continues to be incredibly intense as well. From infancy, the girl has had the ability to throw a massive fit. When she was tiny, she would go nutters in the car, worse than any other kid I've met. I know that other kids can throw fits, but dear Uma takes the cake. These days it's usually around getting dressed. She would live in her purple skirt or rainbow dress if she could. Getting her to change clothing has become incredibly challenging. She insists on wearing sandals with socks. She refuses to do anything with her hair. If you even sneak in a ponytail, as soon as she sees it in the mirror she'll freak. Hopefully this will pass, but once she sets her mind on something, you better watch out. It's hard to know when to engage in battle and when to let it go. To engage means setting yourself up for 45 minutes of torture. To let her have her way is dangerous too. Ahhh- the tyranny of toddlerhood. The good news is that for such a pretty girl, she is certain to be strong as hell.
Having taught school for many years, I've seen what happens when kids see how well their tantrums work and I know I've gotta hold the line- but it's never easy. We do time-outs which I really wish I believed in more. It's usually (almost always) around the issue of calming down. She just builds and builds, and although the time-outs get her into even more of a state, when she comes out she is ready to be human. It breaks my heart, but I honestly often don't know what else to do.
Some confessions....Although I'm shamed to say it- she loves chewing gum. Yep- I give the girl gum. It was a weak moment that now has turned into a habit. Also, much to my chagrin, she would happily watch movies all day long if given a choice. I think it's because her molars are coming in that she just wants to be entertained sometimes, but the girl begs for Mary Poppins. She adores it. I battle with this as it is certainly easier to have her quiet in front of the screen, I can actually do things that need to be done, but it racks me with mommyguilt.
As for me, I've decided to start taking small steps to get my little dream progressive kids bookstore/ radical mamas cafe/ community resource center going. I was pretty depressed about it after going to the workshop, realizing that the start up costs were huge and the profits could be tiny, but I still love the idea and want to move forward with it. I'm about to embark on the task of writing a business plan, hoping that I can find some angel investors to back me up. That's the only way it's going to happen, but I feel pretty optimistic.
Either way, come this fall, Uma will be ready for pre-school and I will be totally ready to pour my energy into something creative. Wish us luck!
March 18, 2008
st.patricks day poop
It's official. Uma had her first poop on the toilet on St.Patty's day. It was actually really exciting. You all knew it was all a matter of time until the blogs changed from tooth talk to potty talk. Well, here we are. There's not a ton to report, she's peeing on the potty, not fully "trained"at all. What does warrant comment is how gender-specific those pull-up diapers are. What's up with that? It's all trucks or princesses.
The last 6 weeks have been absolutely nuts. We got back from Mexico (aaahhhhhhhh) and immediately starting packing up our entire house to move. Our landlords moved into our home. Needless to say, I'm not a one-car mover anymore. Any past identity I used to have about being a light packer or without material items has totally changed with motherhood. Uma has a ton of crap. And trying to create any order and packing with Uma nearby is an oxymoron. Having a kid is such a great opportunity to identify any type of control issues you may have.
Anyways, our new house is stunning. It's more than double the size of our old house. We're still in the same hood, about 30 blocks closer to downtown. We have an incredible view of the city and are a couple blocks from 3 great coffee shops including a a cooperative socialist one, a vegan "mall" including a convenience store, bakery, and tattoo parlour (?), gay bars, dive bars, a children friendly restaurant, awesome Thai food,and a wicked playground. The flowers are all out- daffodils, cherry blossoms, daphne, camellias, euphoria. We are happy. Of course, every move just gets better, no matter how inconvenient it may feel.
Uma loves the new pad- her room is the whole length or the house with tons of windows connected by french doors to my room. she even sleeps in her own room (half the night). She is just talking and singing all day long. She has lots of new tricks up her sleeves. She's incredibly athletic at the playground, she can climb the rock wall and hang from the bars herself.
Uma knows her full name. She calls herself Uma Kucera, Uma Moses, Annabelles Kucera, etc. She calls me Mama Kucera or Clay-er, and sometimes Clara Kucera. She named Kermit, her favorite, Froggie Kucera.
As for me, it's so hard to believe that it's already spring. Since I left teaching, it's just been a windwhirl of activity. I don't regret leaving but I do feel clueless about where the winds of fate connect with my free will. The summer was sleepless, then came the fall with the walking pneumonia,next thing was weaning which spurred our getaway to Mexico, then the move.
I can't believe that it's taken me this long to figure out what I am doing.
Right after we moved our things, I went to take a week-long workshop that was created for people who want to open a bookstore. I've have a huge dream of opening a progressive kids bookshop including a hip mama's political cafe and resource center. It took me a while to figure it out, all the little peices, but then it crystallized and felt so perfect. I have hundred of books chosen already that focus on social justice, ecology, peace, tolerance, gender, multi-culturalism, diversity, family structures, feelings. I just love researching all the books!
I attended the workshop as wanted to learn the nuts and bolts before embarking on this huge endeavor. I felt so optimistic, as it seemed like the perfect accumulating goal with all of my past lives put to good use. I'd be able to put together all of my experience as a buyer, a bookseller, a teacher, and a mama. By the end of the workshop, I felt a little less excited as the take home message was that this would be a labor of love, a fulfilling career with no hope of ever making a dime. It's fuel for this fodder. I still love the idea, I feel like it's a perfect niche for me, I just want to make sure I'm savvy. In the meantime, I'm finally unpacked and grounding down, exciting for all of the clouds to clear.
The last 6 weeks have been absolutely nuts. We got back from Mexico (aaahhhhhhhh) and immediately starting packing up our entire house to move. Our landlords moved into our home. Needless to say, I'm not a one-car mover anymore. Any past identity I used to have about being a light packer or without material items has totally changed with motherhood. Uma has a ton of crap. And trying to create any order and packing with Uma nearby is an oxymoron. Having a kid is such a great opportunity to identify any type of control issues you may have.
Anyways, our new house is stunning. It's more than double the size of our old house. We're still in the same hood, about 30 blocks closer to downtown. We have an incredible view of the city and are a couple blocks from 3 great coffee shops including a a cooperative socialist one, a vegan "mall" including a convenience store, bakery, and tattoo parlour (?), gay bars, dive bars, a children friendly restaurant, awesome Thai food,and a wicked playground. The flowers are all out- daffodils, cherry blossoms, daphne, camellias, euphoria. We are happy. Of course, every move just gets better, no matter how inconvenient it may feel.
Uma loves the new pad- her room is the whole length or the house with tons of windows connected by french doors to my room. she even sleeps in her own room (half the night). She is just talking and singing all day long. She has lots of new tricks up her sleeves. She's incredibly athletic at the playground, she can climb the rock wall and hang from the bars herself.
Uma knows her full name. She calls herself Uma Kucera, Uma Moses, Annabelles Kucera, etc. She calls me Mama Kucera or Clay-er, and sometimes Clara Kucera. She named Kermit, her favorite, Froggie Kucera.
As for me, it's so hard to believe that it's already spring. Since I left teaching, it's just been a windwhirl of activity. I don't regret leaving but I do feel clueless about where the winds of fate connect with my free will. The summer was sleepless, then came the fall with the walking pneumonia,next thing was weaning which spurred our getaway to Mexico, then the move.
I can't believe that it's taken me this long to figure out what I am doing.
Right after we moved our things, I went to take a week-long workshop that was created for people who want to open a bookstore. I've have a huge dream of opening a progressive kids bookshop including a hip mama's political cafe and resource center. It took me a while to figure it out, all the little peices, but then it crystallized and felt so perfect. I have hundred of books chosen already that focus on social justice, ecology, peace, tolerance, gender, multi-culturalism, diversity, family structures, feelings. I just love researching all the books!
I attended the workshop as wanted to learn the nuts and bolts before embarking on this huge endeavor. I felt so optimistic, as it seemed like the perfect accumulating goal with all of my past lives put to good use. I'd be able to put together all of my experience as a buyer, a bookseller, a teacher, and a mama. By the end of the workshop, I felt a little less excited as the take home message was that this would be a labor of love, a fulfilling career with no hope of ever making a dime. It's fuel for this fodder. I still love the idea, I feel like it's a perfect niche for me, I just want to make sure I'm savvy. In the meantime, I'm finally unpacked and grounding down, exciting for all of the clouds to clear.
February 10, 2008
February 2, 2008
January 12, 2008
Twenty-three months and loving it
Uma and I have been in Mexico for a almost two weeks. We have settled down in the same town we came to last winter, Sayulita. We arrived during the holiday season and the gringos were a plenty. Apparently, the New York Times cited Sayulita as the number one best winter get away. So much for unknown little beach villa. In the last few days, the masses have cleared and it’s the same sweet place that we remember.
Uma adores Mexico. The first few days were a bit spotty, as she was out of her little routine and comfort zone, but now she is totally in her element, a dirty little nina with a wild smile on her face, running around like a loony bin.
We have established our daily rhythm which goes something like this: wake up with the roosters, scramble down to the zocolo (zokeo) for some coffee and hot cocoa, feed the ids, run around, watch the early morning surfers, eat some breakfast, head to the beach, swim, build holes, dodge the tide, take a nap on the beach, come home and play in the pool, eat guacamole (wokawohlie), watch the sunset, run around the garden, go the the zoloco at dark, get a sweet treat, climb and jump off of everything, get extremely dirty, and come home and go to sleep. That’s our day.
Uma loves to find other little routines throughout the day. Every time we walk over one bridge, we look for the big beautiful brown cow below, Uma will say “cow hungry?” or “cow sleeping?” if she’s out of sight. When we walk over the other bridge she wants to sing the Muppet show theme.
It’s been so interesting watching her little brain unplug from her normal life. At first, she sang her normal repertoire of songs all day long (alphabet, twinkle, happy birthday), asked to go to the neighbors house, wanted to watch her snowman video, and said she wanted to go home several times a day (this killed me). Now, she is totally here, asks to go to the ocean or to go to the zocolo, and babbles Spanish phrases.
Now, her “no!” is tempered by her saying “no gracias” (she hears me says this through out the day), and she will say “me gusta”, “hola”, “ados”, and “bomba” (plunger- we had to borrow one once and we learned the word together).
Uma is now fully talking in complete sentences ( in English). She is kissing me all the time, and tells me that she loves me throughout the day without any prompting. She is at once the very best travel partner and also at times the worst. She still throws fits and gets fixated on what she loves and wants, but these small moments have nothing on the joy that we are sharing.
There are tons of families here with kids. It’s so wonderful to meet wonderful folks from all over who are all here for the same reason (to escape!) There’s such a common understanding and camaraderie with parents. We get it. It’s very comforting.
More later- it’s time for ice cream.
Uma adores Mexico. The first few days were a bit spotty, as she was out of her little routine and comfort zone, but now she is totally in her element, a dirty little nina with a wild smile on her face, running around like a loony bin.
We have established our daily rhythm which goes something like this: wake up with the roosters, scramble down to the zocolo (zokeo) for some coffee and hot cocoa, feed the ids, run around, watch the early morning surfers, eat some breakfast, head to the beach, swim, build holes, dodge the tide, take a nap on the beach, come home and play in the pool, eat guacamole (wokawohlie), watch the sunset, run around the garden, go the the zoloco at dark, get a sweet treat, climb and jump off of everything, get extremely dirty, and come home and go to sleep. That’s our day.
Uma loves to find other little routines throughout the day. Every time we walk over one bridge, we look for the big beautiful brown cow below, Uma will say “cow hungry?” or “cow sleeping?” if she’s out of sight. When we walk over the other bridge she wants to sing the Muppet show theme.
It’s been so interesting watching her little brain unplug from her normal life. At first, she sang her normal repertoire of songs all day long (alphabet, twinkle, happy birthday), asked to go to the neighbors house, wanted to watch her snowman video, and said she wanted to go home several times a day (this killed me). Now, she is totally here, asks to go to the ocean or to go to the zocolo, and babbles Spanish phrases.
Now, her “no!” is tempered by her saying “no gracias” (she hears me says this through out the day), and she will say “me gusta”, “hola”, “ados”, and “bomba” (plunger- we had to borrow one once and we learned the word together).
Uma is now fully talking in complete sentences ( in English). She is kissing me all the time, and tells me that she loves me throughout the day without any prompting. She is at once the very best travel partner and also at times the worst. She still throws fits and gets fixated on what she loves and wants, but these small moments have nothing on the joy that we are sharing.
There are tons of families here with kids. It’s so wonderful to meet wonderful folks from all over who are all here for the same reason (to escape!) There’s such a common understanding and camaraderie with parents. We get it. It’s very comforting.
More later- it’s time for ice cream.
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